Broken Family
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Threeshot that follows Mike's Movie- No family is ever perfect, but some are considered more broken than others.
1. Dekker's Son

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai_

* * *

><p>Dekker knew very well that he didn't have a shot. There was nothing left for him.<p>

He had dueled the red Ranger and lost. He could no longer call himself the greatest warrior.

He was neither Nighlok nor human. The Netherworld didn't want him. Xandred wanted him dead and all the other Nighlok followed his command. The only Nighlok who didn't want him dead was Dayu, but he wanted nothing to do with her.

The human world didn't want him. They had never wanted him. He was a danger. Because he was a Nighlok, they couldn't trust him. He could barely trust himself anymore.

He couldn't go back to Dayu. The things she had done to him couldn't be forgotten. He understood her pain, he truly did, but that would never replace what she had cost him.

He couldn't go back to Serena, which was where he really wanted to be. She had threatened to kill him many times before but had never done so until their last encounter. Has he not jumped into the Gap when he did he would be dead. She would have killed him. She had made her point. She would not take him back.

But what hurt the most was that she also had his son. He didn't care what other people thought of him or what kind of parent they thought he would be. He wanted his son. He wanted the only thing left that belonged to him. But he had never been able to get close. Serena kept him at a distance because she couldn't trust him, because of the things Dayu had made him do. Everything kept falling back to Dayu. That day their house burned down was the day this started. Centuries ago he had been cursed, and he never felt the curse more than he did now. The curse was hurting him.

Dayu should have let him die, and he could kill himself, if it weren't for one thing. He had one reason left to live.

He stood in the shadows just outside the Shiba House. The symbols to keep the Nighlok out were still up from when Takeshi had attacked. It was smart of the Rangers to keep them there. It meant the Shiba House was safe from nearly all Nighlok.

Nearly all.

If Terran could slip in and out, so could he. The downside of having a part Nighlok baby in the Shiba House was that the Rangers always had a way for Dekker to get in.

But beyond the Gates and the shield of symbols, security was tough. Dekker didn't care for the secrets or weapons, he wanted to see his son. If he was going to live for eternity, from time to time, he wanted to see his son. Seeing Terran, though, meant getting past Serena. Dekker couldn't kill Serena. He didn't even want to see her hurt, but she would kill him. It made it impossible to get past her.

There was still an opening, though. Serena wasn't Terran's only caregiver.

Finally, Dekker saw someone coming out and he looked up at the moon. It was close enough to morning he knew he had his opening. Serena would need to leave for work so she needed sleep. To keep her from complete sleep deprivation, she never cared for Terran as morning approached. From 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM, if Terran woke up, he was someone else's responsibility.

Dekker could hear his son's screaming and he knew everything was lining up perfectly. The house his son lived in was so full of people, and Terran had a good set of lungs on him. When he cried at night, he annoyed the entire house. Sometimes, that meant whoever took care of him brought him outside to sooth him.

Just like tonight.

He stalked in closer, as quiet as he could be. He stuck to the shadows. He had to come up with a way to snatch his son, just for a couple of hours, without alerting the rest of the house that he was there. The minute anyone found out Terran was missing, they'd find him and he'd be dead.

But he had prepared for this and when he was close enough, he struck. In a shift motion he snatched his son, held him carefully in his arms while grabbing and silencing his caregiver. When he looked down to see who it was, he groaned.

"I'm screwed, aren't I?"

His captive nodded.

-Samurai-

Dekker had been living in a cave. It wasn't much, but he called it home. The burning fire warmed up the space and he had stolen blankets, pillows, and more from the stores in town to make the rocks and dirt a little more comfortable.

He wasn't surprised at how easily he managed to walk home. With Terran in his arms, he knew whoever he attacked would follow.

He set his son down on a blanket then pointed to a corner of the cave.

He didn't anticipate this, though. The minute he set Terran down and took his eyes off his captive, he was attacked. He was kicked hard in the ribs when he turned around but he didn't let that stop him. His attacker tried to kick him again but he grabbed and pinned his attacker to the ground.

He didn't have to worry about the arms. They were bound tightly under his captive. The feet still posed a threat. Just as Dekker was about to get up he was kicked in the stomach. What his captive didn't realise, though, was that when he was kicked in the stomach, he would double over and sit until the pain passed which meant there was no escape.

When Dekker could breathe again he reached out and grabbed a rope. He tied it around the legs, from the thigh down.

"Just until sunrise," he said. His captive signalled no. Dekker chuckled, "I didn't ask."

Terran started to stir and cry. He felt a little colder than normal and couldn't recognise his environment at all. He screamed for someone to pick him up and after quite some time, someone did. He didn't recognise the arms or the voice but he was comfortable.

"Shh," Dekker whispered to his son, "It's just daddy."

It took a while, but Dekker finally did get Terran back to sleep. He stared at his son's little face and couldn't believe what he was looking at. This was his boy. His little boy.

"You can't deny it," Dekker whispered and glanced up, "He is my son."

With Terran in his arms he got up and walked over to his captive. He pulled the gag from her mouth, "Please say it, Serena."

"I'll kill you," Serena struggled but her ropes were bound tightly around her, making it impossible to do anything but roll on the ground.

"You weren't supposed to find out," Dekker told her. "What were you doing with him?"

"He's my son."

"Your sister normally has him at this time of night," this statement only succeeded in pissing Serena off more. The only reason she was up with him was because she didn't need to be at school the next day. The kids had a P.A day and wouldn't be there. There was nothing for her to do that she couldn't do from home. So, fortunately, she had been up with Terran.

"I'll rip your heart out," Serena growled, "You'll be alive to see me do it."

"Again," Dekker looked down at Terran, "Please, Serena, we can figure something out. I'm not asking for you. I understand…"

"No."

"I could leave with him now."

"I'll hunt you down," Serena said, "You're both part Nighlok. There's nothing you can do to keep me from tracking you."

"I could take him to the Netherworld. He would survive. You never could, unless you traded your soul, of course."

Tears stung Serena's eyes, "Give him back, Dekker."

Dekker shook his head. He put the gag back in her mouth and walked back to the other side of the cave, "Not until I'm done."

He cuddled with his son while he heard Serena cry. It was times like these he wished he could be a selfish monster again. He wished he could do as he wanted and not care what happened to anyone else. The old Dekker would have taken what belonged to him and run. He may have even killed Serena.

But he couldn't do it. So he stayed with Terran until sunrise. If he was lucky, it would still be too early for the Rangers. He cradled his son gently and picked up Serena as well. He knew she'd kill him if she could, so he didn't give her that chance.

He carried her back to the Shiba House and snuck into her room. He set her down, still bound, on her bed and then looked at Terran, still sleeping in his arms.

The window was right there. He could go and never come back, and he could take Terran with him. He could keep his son in a secret place in the Netherworld. Somewhere not even Xandred would find him. The Netherworld was so big, surely a place like that existed.

But Serena continued to cry under the gag and he turned to look at her. Her eyes were begging him not to take her son.

"You're lucky," Dekker whispered as he set Terran down in his crib, "You don't believe me, but I've changed. I'm not who you think I am."

Dekker did use the window. He did run for the Netherworld, but he didn't take his son with him.

Terran began to cry. He cried and cried and Serena couldn't get up. The Rangers were probably still sleeping so until Terran's cries, which weren't unusual at this hour, woke them up and they realised something was wrong, there was nothing that could be done for Terran.

After almost an hour, there was a knock on the door and it opened.

"Serena, he's… Serena!"

Emily rushed over to her sister and pulled out her Samuraizer to make a knife. She cut the ropes. Serena jumped up out of bed and raced over to the crib. She picked Terran up and held him close to her chest as she sunk to her knees. Her face was already soaked in tears.

Emily approached her sister and knelt down beside her. She placed her hand on Serena's back, "What happened?"

Serena's didn't say anything. She leaned into Emily and buried her face in her little sister's shoulder. Emily wrapped her arms around Serena and held her comfortingly, "Are you okay?"

Emily felt Serena shake her head. She gently lifted her sister to her feet.

"What happened?" Emily asked again. Serena wiped her tears.

"Terran's probably hungry."

Emily sighed, "I guess you want me to leave?"

"No… I…"

"Tell me what happened. Who did this?"

"He's gone."

"Who?"

"He'll come back. I know he will."

"Serena!" Emily stomped her foot. Suddenly Terran was placed in her arms. "What…?"

Serena grabbed Emily's Samuraizer, "Don't leave the house."

"Serena…"

Emily watched as her older sister took off. She followed her outside.

Serena opened the gate and turned around. She glared at Emily, "Don't leave the house."

"Where are you going?"

Serena held up the Samuraizer and traced a symbol. A bright light flashed and surrounded the house, cutting between Serena and Emily, "I'll be back, I promise."

"Where are you…?" Emily stepped forward but walked into something invisible. She held one hand out in front of her and groaned as she recognised the symbol Serena had cast. She remembered, as a child, falling a lot. Her house had a number of stairs and everyone worried Emily would fall down (or up, it wasn't unheard of with Emily). Because baby gates didn't always work, Serena and Ellie had learned another symbol. They made a shield Emily couldn't walk or fall through; no one in the earth clan could walk through it. But now, instead of just a small baby gate, it surrounded the entire house.

"What's going on?" Emily heard from behind her and she turned around to see Kevin approaching her.

"Serena ran off and won't let me follow," Emily huffed.

Kevin looked around, "And that's stopping you…?"

Emily pointed to the floating symbols around the house, "She baby gated me! I outgrew that when I turned four!"

"Baby gated?" Kevin asked. Emily rolled her eyes, tried to walk through the shield but couldn't. Kevin decided to try and stepped through without a problem. He turned to Emily and chuckled, "Had we known…"

"Can you go after her?" Emily interrupted before Kevin had any ideas.

Kevin sighed, "Where did she go?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"Something happened and she ran off. She won't let me follow."

Kevin massaged his temples, "Alright, I'll try to look for her."


	2. Kill Him

Serena walked through the forest, ignoring everything while she hoped Dekker would show himself. She knew it was likely he had run like a coward, but she had to try and find him. It was bad enough she knew he was still lurking about, but going after her son while she was sleeping was inexcusable. She couldn't risk losing him. And when Dekker had mentioned he thought Emily would be taking care of Terran…

Serena forgot what she ever saw in Dekker. She had tried to keep herself from regretting what she had with him. She had tried to keep the memory of the man he was, but she couldn't do it anymore. He had changed too much… or hadn't changed.

She was confused, she was frustrated, she was upset, and she was PISSED.

She couldn't lose Terran or her sister again, so she had locked them in. Even if someone did break through Jayden's field, they couldn't take Emily or Terran away from the house. She knew where they were and she knew they were safe, and she would make sure they stayed that way.

As she approached a river she fell to her knees. Her face was still soaked in tears and would be for a while still. She had been terrified before in her life. Many times she had been terrified, but never like this. She had never, ever, been so scared of something so horrible. She was Terran's mother. She knew what was safe for him and what wasn't and when she knew he was in danger and there was nothing she could do to save him…

It mortified her. For years she couldn't understand why her mom had been _so_ protective of her. She always thought he mother would exaggerate. She thought she understood to a degree, because she always worried about Emily, but with Terran it was completely different. He was so small, so innocent, and so helpless and she knew he would always stay that way. Even when he was grown and would be taller and stronger, he would still be her little boy.

And Dekker was NEVER going to take him away.

So she understood her mother's overprotectiveness completely now. She understood a lot of things now.

Except what she had ever seen in Dekker.

It had been bright as day. He was the man who wanted to murder one of her friends. He had kidnapped her sister and her friends. He had nearly killed them. He had told her what his intentions were. She still let herself fall for him.

Her mother had been right to worry and be angry.

Serena picked up a rock and tossed it into the river. As she watched the waves she heard a twig snap. Thinking this was her moment, she pulled out Emily's Samuraizer and morphed. She spun around quickly, drawing her sword.

"Kevin…" she sighed and lowered the Spin Sword from his neck, "I thought you were someone else."

"Clearly… unless I did something to piss you off."

Serena shook her head, "Sorry," she pulled off her helmet and sighed, "Let me guess, you want me to go home?"

"Kind of, but if you want to talk… what happened?"

Serena felt her eyes watering up again. She couldn't remember the last time she got this emotional this fast. Just the thought of Terran near a stranger scared Serena. Seeing Terran in Dekker the monster's arms while she laid helpless…

"Nothing."

"Nothing doesn't lead to this."

"Sometimes, Kevin…"

"Fine, you can hide it from me, but you have to trust someone. The more you bottle things up, the more we all get hurt. You know, most of your problems would have been avoided if you just talked about them."

Serena glared at Kevin, "You try living a day in my life. If it's not one thing…"

"So you talk. You share. It's less of a burden. Just tell me what you're looking for."

Serena looked down at her Spin Sword, "Dekker. I want to kill him."

"Dekker? Why all of a sudden?"

"Not all of a sudden. I've wanted to kill him since… he abandoned you guys. He didn't follow through with his plan. I'm sure it's his fault you guys were hurt."

"With that Nighlok…"

"Takeshi," Serena nodded her head, "Dekker knew his name. He got involved."

"You don't know…"

"He got involved!" Serena snapped, "It's because of him you all got hurt! We could have rescued you all sooner if that fucking bastard just did what he promised!"

"But why are you coming after him now? That was weeks ago…"

"Because he came back," Serena muttered, "Terran was crying and he was getting loud. I took him outside. Dekker… he thought I was Emily."

"What?"

"He thought I was Emily so he attacked. He came up to the Shiba House and grabbed Terran and me. I don't know what he wanted."

"How do you know he thought you were Emily?"

"He told me," Serena said. "He had it planned. He didn't want me knowing and you know my schedule. When I work, I need sleep. You can't walk into a school full of kids when you're tired."

"So Emily takes him in the middle of the night on school nights," Kevin said, putting the pieces together, "Dekker's been watching. If he knew the routine…"

"He didn't want me to know because he knows I'll murder him. But I was outside with Terran, trying to get him to calm down when Dekker showed up. He brought me and Terran to a cave, tied me up and left me on the ground while he…"

"What did he do?"

Serena's chin started to quiver, "I… I thought he was going to take Terran. He just held him until the sun came up. I knew he thought about it, though."

"Then what?"

"He carried us both home and dumped me in my bed. He knew if he untied me I'd kill him… so he didn't. But he still had Terran. I saw him… I saw him looking at the window. He thought about running off… He could have taken Terran to the Netherworld and I…"

Serena started to cry so Kevin pulled her into his arms, "Serena…"

"I hate him… he's done nothing but hurt me and you guys," Serena sobbed into Kevin's shoulder, "The only good thing he's ever given me was Terran. If he takes him away…"

"He's never going to take him away," Kevin promised. "I'd go down into the Netherworld myself if that happened. We'd all go and we'd get him back."

"I don't know how to end it," Serena finally powered down, "I can only kill him."

Kevin hugged Serena warmly and looked around the forest, "I doubt he's coming back."

"He has to. I have to kill him!"

Kevin shook his head, "You'll get him next time."

"I have to get him now. He'll just come back… he'll take Terran again and what if he never brings him back?"

"He'll never take Terran," Kevin assured her, "C'mon, we should head home."

-Samurai-

By now Terran was screaming. This was not normal for him. Normally in the mornings he was with mommy and after the strange night he had had, he wanted his mommy.

Emily rocked the Nighlok and was stressed herself. Not only was she worried about Serena, but now she had Nighlok Terran screaming in her ear and the rest of the Shiba House was asking her questions she couldn't answer. They tried to take Terran off her hands when they saw she was stressing out, but Emily wouldn't let him go.

While she rocked Terran she tried to call her sister. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, but Serena never picked up. She had promised she would come back, but Emily was getting scared. It had been a couple of hours already.

"Emily, he's probably hungry," Mia pointed out. Emily shook her head.

"He was fed. He wants Serena."

Just as she said this the door opened and Emily bolted over to see who it was. She sighed in relief when she saw Kevin had brought Serena back. She threw herself into Serena's arms.

"Don't run off like that!"

"Sorry, Emy," Serena hugged her little sister and took Terran from her arms. She hugged her son and whispered soothing words until he turned back into his human form.

"What happened?" Jayden asked her, "You had Emily in a panic and we were all worried."

"I'll tell you guys later," Serena said, "I just… I need to think for a while."

"About what?" Mike asked.

"Just… everything."

"Do you want to talk?"

"She's fine," Kevin assured the other Samurai.

"I'll tell you guys later," Serena repeated. "I didn't sleep well last night, so if you guys don't mind…"

"Serena…"

"Emily."

"What happened?" Emily demanded. "You can't not tell me. I saw…"

Serena sighed, "You look tired too, Emy."

"Do you know how freaked out I was! Of course I'm tired!"

"Come," Serena waved Emily over, "You can nap in my room after I tell you what happened."

Serena led Emily away while the other Samurai all gathered around Kevin, hoping they could get answers from him. But he simply shook his head.

"All I can say is that you guys better be ready next time you see Dekker."

"Ready for what?" Mike asked.

Kevin sighed, "Human or not: we kill him."


	3. Emily Protects

Serena had explained it all to Emily and had cried again. She hated crying to Emily, but she couldn't stop herself. She was supposed to be the strong one; the older sister; the protector, and yet she had made herself vulnerable again in front of Emily.

So she got herself to calm down and assured Emily she was okay. She promised Emily everything would be okay and Dekker would not do this to her again. Then she saw Emily close her eyes to sleep. She laid down next to Emily on her bed and watched her sister drift off before she felt her exhaust overcoming her and she soon gave in.

When her breathing steadied, Emily opened one eye. She let out a sigh. She had thought Serena was never going to sleep. She had nearly fallen asleep for real several times while waiting.

Emily got out of bed slowly so she wouldn't wake up Serena. She wanted to help her sister, but there was no way Serena would ever let her. There was no way anyone in the house would let her. But that wouldn't stop Emily.

She walked over to Terran's crib and looked down at him sleeping peacefully. It was a shame he was stuck with Dekker as a father. Mike was doing his best and Emily knew it would get better as he got older, but there was something about having a real family, not parents who fought constantly.

She bit her lip, terrified as she reached into the crib.

-Samurai-

Emily sat on a fallen tree in the forest with a bundle in her arms which she rocked gently and played with, waving her finger around for fun. Suddenly, she heard the ground shifting; a crunch in the snow. She jumped to her feet and turned around, clutching the bundle close to her chest.

"Dekker?"

"You are alone?"

Emily nodded her head fearfully. She hadn't called Dekker, but she had been expecting him to show up. He wanted Terran and for some reason he thought she was the best way to get his son. She knew if she waited long enough, he couldn't resist the temptation. Dekker had only let Serena keep Terran because he couldn't hurt Serena. But he had, over and over again, hurt Emily. This time, she knew he wouldn't hesitate.

Dekker felt like there was something that wasn't quite right. It had only been hours since he had returned Serena. She had no doubt shared her story with the other Samurai and now her sister was out in the open with Terran… something didn't add up.

Since he had been left to survive on his own, Dekker always carried his supplies with him. He had a home in the cave but unsure of what would happen when he wandered out, especially during the winter season, he never went anywhere without the basic necessities. He pulled out a rope.

"While I have you here, we can do this one of two ways," he told her.

Emily shook her head and clutched her bundle closer to her chest, "I'll let you have him on one condition."

Dekker wasn't sure he heard her right, "What?"

"I'll let you have him," Emily repeated, "on one condition. Leave my sister alone!"

Dekker was starting to feel more and more like this was a trap. He noticed he could only see the blankets around Terran, but he hadn't seen his son's face.

"Let me see him," he asked. Emily shifted the bundle around in her arms and lowered the blankets, exposing Terran's face.

"It's cold," she told Dekker, "You'll need to keep him warm… if you're going to take him."

Dekker couldn't believe it. She had been stupid enough to actually bring the baby. Now he was certain this was a trap.

Emily held out Terran slightly, "Take him."

Dekker stood still for a moment and tried to listen around. Either she was actually stupid enough to just hand over the baby, or this was planned, and if it was planned, it was likely the entire team was watching.

"Put him down."

Emily shook her head, "It's cold. Come take him."

Dekker wouldn't approach her until he knew what was going on. Emily knew she had to make her move.

"I hate myself… but you promised you wouldn't hurt him," she said. "You promised Serena. Besides, you're his dad; you want to take care of him."

"What game are you playing, yellow Ranger?"

Emily shook her head, "This isn't a game, Dekker. This is the most serious thing I've ever done. If we can't convince you to back off… I hate it but… we might as well just hand him over."

"Who is here with you?"

"No one," Emily insisted. "No one knows I even took him out of his crib."

"And why are you giving him to me?"

"Because you're going to keep fighting for him and we can't stop you. It's going to ruin his life. I have a better chance of convincing Serena to stop looking for him. If you promise to leave her alone from now on… you can have him."

Dekker noticed the tears in Emily's eyes and the look on her face. "This is hard for you?"

"You promise you'll take care of him?" Emily asked.

"He is my son. I will raise him as such. I will give him everything."

"Promise you'll leave Serena alone?"

"Give me my son, yellow Ranger," Dekker growled. He stepped forward and Emily stepped back, clutching Terran tighter.

"Promise you'll leave Serena alone?" she repeated.

"Yellow Ranger, give me my son."

"Leave Serena alone."

"Give me my son!" Dekker roared and charged forward. He didn't have any weapons on him but he could over power the yellow Ranger. He always could. When she turned to run away he caught the hood of her jacket and pulled her onto her back. She was still holding his son tight with one hand but he saw the other reaching for her waist. He grabbed her wrist before she could get her Samuraizer and he twisted it painfully while his other hand grabbed the bundle. When he had Terran, safe and sound, in his arms, he let go of Emily, "I will be leaving."

Emily looked up at Dekker as he slowly got up off her, "Please leave her alone, now."

Dekker scoffed. He couldn't care any less any more. He took a few steps away from Emily and then double checked the bundle. The Samurai were sneaky so before he got too far he wanted to see if he got what he wanted.

He unwrapped Terran from the blankets and saw his son looking up at him, smiling happily. He tickled the little boy under the chin, trying to make the smile grow when suddenly he felt something hit his back. His vision blurred and he swayed. He held Terran tight, but his grip soon started to fail. He dropped the boy into the snow and fell.

Emily tucked her Samuraizer away and smiled to herself. She had no idea how well the symbol would work, but she just needed it to work well enough for Dekker to forget a little over a year of his life, which, given how long he had been alive, was not a huge part of his life. Hopefully, she had done the forget symbol right.

She got up, cradling the wrist Dekker had twisted, and walked to the bundle he had dropped. The blankets had fallen around Terran, who was lying in the snow. She picked up Terran's favourite blanket, "He must have thought I was an idiot. I love doubles."

Smiling to herself, Emily set off for home.

When she got to the Shiba House, she saw Mike waiting outside. He looked very unimpressed.

"Where did you go?" he demanded.

"Out."

"Where?" Mike asked again. He had been worried for her. After giving her and Serena some time to talk, he decided it was likely best to check up on them, but when he opened the door to Serena's room, Emily was gone. He checked the map first and saw her signal walking home so he waited for her.

"I just had to take care of some stuff," Emily shrugged, still holding her wrist. It hurt like hell. She was sure Dekker had done something to it.

"Like…" Mike pressed. Emily let out a heavy sigh. She couldn't really hide it from him.

"Dekker."

Mike tensed up instantly, "What?"

"He attacked Serena," Emily said, "It's only fair…"

"Do you have a death wish?" Mike cried as he stormed over to Emily and grabbed her by the arm, "You're going to get yourself killed! You went looking for him?"

Emily bit her lip and looked down. She could hear Mike growling angrily.

"Emily…"

"I'm fine!"

"You could have gotten hurt!"

"I can always get hurt," Emily rolled her eyes, "besides, I didn't."

"Because you didn't find him?" Mike asked hopefully. Emily bit her lip again. Mike gasped. "Emily! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I didn't!" Emily stomped her foot.

"Emily…"

"He underestimated me! You're all underestimating me."

"Em…"

"If anyone else had gone out there…"

"They would have gotten hurt, too, Em."

"But why will I always get killed?"

"Because you keep putting yourself in situations where you're going to get yourself killed!"

"He's a better fighter than me. You're all better than me, but I still took him on and won!"

"You could have been killed," Mike stated. He dropped her arm and turned away from her with a huff, "I'm going inside."

Emily was a little disappointed. She knew that if she told everyone what she did they would yell at her for going out on her own, but she thought she could at least tell Mike and get him to understand.

"But don't you want to hear how I won?"

"Not really, Em," Mike shook his head as he walked up the steps.

"But…"

"Em, I've seen and done enough stupid things in my life. I don't need to hear another story."

"What?" Emily furrowed her brow quizzically then shook her head, "Okay, I get it was kind of stupid but…"

Mike turned around and looked at Emily, "No, Em, there's a line. There's doing stupid things and there's being stupid enough to do stupid things. One day, you're going to run out into danger and you're not going to get lucky."

"What?"

"We've talked about this once before, Emily."

"When?"

"The last time you went out on your own after Dekker and didn't tell anyone!" Mike screamed.

"Serena knew…"

"Serena had just woken up from a coma, you idiot!" Mike shouted and Emily had a look of shock on her face, "She could barely get a word out! By the time she could string a sentence together, you could have been long dead."

"But I wasn't!"

"But you could have been."

"But I wasn't…"

"I don't care what happened! I care about what could have happened, and what will eventually happen if you keep running around like a moron looking for trouble!"

"Mike!"

"If you're going to keep being stupid you'll end up dead before we're even married, so why should I even bother?"

Emily had had it. Her lip quivered and tears stung her eyes. She pulled her ring off her finger and tossed it at Mike.

"Fine! Don't marry me!"

She stormed passed him and into the house. Mike followed her, holding the ring.

"What?"

Emily didn't listen to him. She walked down to her sister's room and slammed the door. The sound woke up both Terran and Serena.

Serena heard the door slam, but then heard Terran crying. She got up and walked over to the crib. She picked him up but noticed his blanket was gone. She usually hung it over the side of the crib so he knew it was near, and it was close enough in reach so she could wrap it around him when he woke up in the mornings. As she picked him up and soothed him, she started looking around for it.

"It's here," she heard someone say and turned around. She saw Emily sitting on the floor against the door, knees to her chest, holding the baby blanket out. Her sister's face was soaked in tears.

"Emy…" Serena walked over and took the blanket from Emily. She wrapped it around Terran and then sat next to her sister, "What's wrong?"

"I took care of Dekker."

"What?"

"I made him forget about Terran… and hopefully about you too. He won't come looking for him anymore so Terran's safe."

"How?" Serena asked with concern, "Emy, what did you do?"

"Dekker wanted Terran. I took his blanket, made a double, and took it out. Dekker fell for it, and when he took Terran, I hit him with a forget symbol."

"Forget? Emily, that's…"

"Not so hard," Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Kevin and I did have to use symbol power without the Samuraizers, remember? That'll definitely strengthen you."

"I guess, but…"

"I went after Dekker and I survived. Don't get mad."

"But you could have gotten hurt, Em."

"So?"

"Emily…"

"Dekker came in here and tied you up! He took Terran once, he could do it again! Someone was going to get hurt anyways!"

"But…"

"I won't do it again, I promise," Emily huffed. She crossed her arms over her knees, "If you're all going to flip out."

Serena sighed. She hated that Emily had gone out on her own, but if it meant keeping Terran safe maybe it was for the best. Emily was a trained Samurai, Terran was just a baby.

She was about to wrap her free arm around Emily in a hug when she noticed the bruising on Emily's wrist. She set Terran down in her lap and inspected Emily's hand, "What happened?"

"That's all Dekker did," Emily shrugged her shoulders, "He twisted it."

Serena looked up at Emily, "Do you want peas?"

Emily shook her head, "I can barely feel it now."

"Emy…"

"It's not bothering me," Emily insisted.

"I'll get the first aid kit, still," Serena said. She put Terran in his crib and left the room for a moment.

Emily just sat on the floor while she waited, and she stared at Terran's crib. At least she had fixed his family. She didn't regret that.

Serena came back with two rolls of bandages. Mentor had started to buy them in colour, thinking it could at least be something fun for the Rangers when they got hurt. Serena had brought back a green and yellow, as well as a bag of frozen peas.

"I can wrap them together so you see…"

"Just yellow, please," Emily whispered and placed the peas on her hand. Serena looked at Emily like she was about to ask, but decided against it. She wrapped her wrist up. As soon as she was done she started to clean up, but Emily threw herself in Serena's arms.

"Emy…"

"Are you mad?"

"What? About Dekker?"

"Yeah."

"A little, but… if it was for Terran… Don't make me choose, Emily…"

Emily just hugged her sister tighter, so Serena wrapped her arms around Emily and held her. Something was wrong, but for now everything was okay. She trusted when Emily said Terran was safe, and whatever Emily had done, she was fine now, at least, that's what it looked like.

But something felt wrong. After a few moments Serena finally asked, "Emily, are you okay?"

She got no reply. She pulled away from Emily and saw why. Emily had fallen asleep.

"Conveniently," Serena whispered with a soft chuckle. She lifted her sister up and set her down in her bed. She tucked her in, careful with her wrist.

Then a thought occurred to her. Emily had hurt her left wrist. Serena had seen Emily hurt herself enough times to know swelling usually occurred with injuries. Usually there was nothing to worry about with the swelling, but now Emily always worn her engagement ring. If her fingers swelled, getting the ring off would be difficult or impossible unless the ring was cut.

But when Serena reached for Emily's hand she saw the ring wasn't there.

"Emily… what did you do?" Serena asked. She turned to Terran's crib and shook her head. She was happy he was safe, but what did it cost?


End file.
